Source Code

2. Installation and Configuration

Once you have installed Mumble, you will want to start it up. Mumble will present you with an initial configuration wizard. Just follow the prompts. In almost all cases, the defaults are fine.

Authentication Certificate

Rather than having to use passwords for every server, Mumble offers the use of "certificates" - special encrypted documents that identify you as you. This means that you don't have to remember passwords for different servers, and you don't have to risk an unscrupulous server administrator taking your password.

The first screen you will be presented with is the Certificate Wizard. If you just want to get chatting, then just follow the prompts. The defaults are fine. If you are interested in obtaining a strong certificate, see the obtaining a strong certificate article.

Select "Create a New Certificate", and hit Next

Enter your name and email. These will not be visible to other users, but are used to create your certificate. It is recommended that you use a real name and email for this. Once you've done this, hit Next

Next, Mumble asks you to back up your Certificate. This is very important! If you want to use Mumble on another computer, or lose your existing certificate, you will need this certificate backup to log into your Mumble server as you. We recommend that you save it some place where you will be able to find it again, such as a Documents folder.

Congratulations, you're done with that step!

Audio Setup

Next, Mumble will walk you through the optimal configuration for your sound setup.

Click Next to continue.

On this screen, the default settings should be fine. You can change them if you want. Of note, there are two checkboxes in the bottom of the screen, "Enable positional audio" and "Attenuate applications when others talk".

The first option lets Mumble use its positional audio engine, which lets you hear other people from their relative in-game positions (in supported games). It is recommended that you leave this on. You may turn it off later.

The second option lets Mumble manage your system volume automatically. This will make it so that when other people talk, Mumble will lower your other system sound volume, so that you can clearly hear the person who is talking. This lets you listen to music or game sound without ever missing a word of what's being said on voice chat. It is recommended that you leave this on. You may turn it off later.

The next screen lets you adjust your jitter buffer. If you have problems with choppy or distorted output, you will want to increase this a couple of notches. Increase the slider until the sound playing is no longer choppy or distorted.

This screen adjusts how sensitive your microphone is, and lets Mumble set up its automatic normalization feature. Simply follow the instructions to get each piece of the meter reading properly.

This screen lets you set up how you will send audio. We highly recommend that you use the "Push-To-Talk" setting, which causes you to only send audio if you are pressing a certain key or mouse button.

The other two options will attempt to detect when you are talking, and only send audio then, but this does tend to send things like sneezes, background conversation, and the occasional echo out of your speakers. For this reason, we do not recommend these methods.

Mumble offers a wide range of voice quality options. MMO-Mumble's servers support the "Balanced" option, which sounds great, and has far lower latency than similar products, without being too stressful on bandwidth. Select it, and click Next.

If you dislike Text-To-Speech notifications, you can turn them off here, as well.

If you selected to enable positional audio, this screen will ensure that positional audio is working correctly. There isn't much to do here - just click Next.